Investment Partners LTD. Buys 423 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Investment Partners LTD. increased its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 22,970 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 423 shares during the period. Investment Partners LTD.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,075,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at about $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.95, for a total transaction of $2,823,571.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,558,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $344,972,046.65. This represents a 0.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total transaction of $1,261,968.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,672 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,293,612.80. The trade was a 2.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT opened at $98.65 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $792.52 billion, a PE ratio of 40.94, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $95.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $87.71. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.20 and a 1 year high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is 39.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on WMT shares. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 target price (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 21st. Bank of America increased their price objective on Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. StockNews.com lowered Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $103.07.

Walmart Company Profile

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, other units, and eCommerce worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club. It operates supercenters, supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, cash and carry stores, and discount stores under Walmart and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands; membership-only warehouse clubs; ecommerce websites, such as walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, PhonePe and other sites; and mobile commerce applications.